Needle mechanism for a raschel warp knitting and method of operating the same



K. KOHL 3,491,558 NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR A RASCHEL WARP KNITTING Jan. 27, 1970 AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed Feb. 19. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR K. KOHL Jan. 27, 1970 NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR A RASCHEL WARP KNITTING AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed Feb. 19. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INYENTOR KARL KMH.

United States Patent O 3,491,558 NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR A RASCHEL WARP KNITTING AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Karl Kohl, Olfeubacher Landstr. 20, Hainstadt am Main, Germany Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,314 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 22, 1967, M 72,855 Int. Cl. D04b 23/02 US. Cl. 66-87 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The needles on the two needle bars of a Raschel warp knitting machine are moved longitudinally and also laterally by the needle bar mechanism, each needle moving between a position near the median plane of the yarn guides in their rest position and longitudinally remote from the yarn guides and an up-position laterally remote from that plane and beyond the nearest yarn guide in the rest position of the latter, the needle remaining in the last mentioned position during the lapping movements of the guide bars so that any number of guide bars may be used without requiring complex guide bar swinging motions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to Raschel warp knitting machines, and particularly to a needle mechanism for machines having two needle bars, and to the operation of the machine.

More specifically, the invention is concerned with Raschel machines in which the needles of the two needle bars are alternatingly lifted to the highest or tucking position.

Known Raschel machines of the last-mentioned type cannot be equipped with more than two guide bars, and the guide bars, in addition to their usual lapping movements, must perform an additional transverse movement prior to the actual lapping movements in order to permit the yarn guides nearest the needles safety to wrap their yarns about the needles. This movement is performed after the usual swinging motion of the guide bars.

It is an object of the invention to avoid the supplemental transverse movements of the guide bars, and to permit the use of more than two guide bars on a Raschel warp knitting machine operating with both needle bars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, the knitting needles, while rising toward the up-position, move laterally of the needle bars toward the latch side prior to the lapping movement of the yarn guides until the needles are beyond the yarn guides in the normal or rest position of the latter. The needles of the two needle beds alternatingly perform this lateral movement which starts after the needles leave their lowermost or knocking-over position, and the lateral return movement of the needles, which brings them back to the starting position, takes place after the yarn guides have performed their lapping movements in each knitting cycle. The spacing of the two trick plates respectively associated with the needle bars remains substantially constant during the lateral movements of the two groups of needles.

It has been known to move the needle of Raschel machines having a single needle bar not only up and down, but also transversely in machines equipped with a multitude of guide bars in order to modify the relative movement of the knitting needles and the yarn guides during the lapping movement. The knitting needles participate in the lapping movement. This invention is concerned with a needle mechanism in which the knitting needles stand still during the lapping movement of the yarn guides.

According to the present invention, the starting or upposition of each knitting needle is shifted relative to the vertical median plane of the guide bars. A supplemental swinging movement of the guide bars which is needed in known machines to position the yarn guide properly relative to the needles at the start of each knitting cycle is thereby avoided. The yarn guides perform only the simple swinging motion which is usual in Raschel knitting machines having but one needle bar and few guide bars. This permits the operating speed of the Raschel knitting machines of the invention to be increased substantially over that of conventional Raschel knitting machines equipped with two operating needle bars, and the number of guide bars, which is inherently limited to two in the known machines, may be increased greatly.

Other features, additional objects, and many of the advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIG. 1, there are seen the two trick plates 1, 2 of a Raschel warp knitting machine and one latch needle 3, 4 of each of the two needle beds. In addition to their usual longitudinal movement in the associated trick plates, the

needles also move in plane transverse to the direction of elongation of the associated needle bars (not shown in FIG. 1), that is, in the plane of FIG. 1, and laterally relative to the needle bars, toward and away from a central position near the vertical median plane 5 of the yarn guides 6 in the illustrated normal or rest position of the guides 6.

The needle 4 is shown in its knocking oif position closely adjacent the plane 5, while the needle 3, as shown in FIG. 1, has moved from a corresponding terminal position along the path indicated by the broken line 7 into the illustrated up-position in which the needle is well beyond the nearest yarn guide 6. After reaching that position, the needle 3 stands still while the yarn guides 6 perform the lapping motions of the knitting cycle, as partly indicated by the arcuate line 8 which illustrates the swinging motions of the yarn guides, the endwise motion not being capable of being shown in FIG. 1.

After the yarn guides 6 complete their lapping motions, the needle 3 returns to the knocking-over position in a downward direction while swinging toward the plane 5, while the needle 4 moves upwardly and toward the latch side into the position 4a indicated in broken lines, the lateral movement beginning after the needle 4 leaves the knocking=over position.

The mechanism employed for causing the needle movements, discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, is partly shown in FIG. 2, only the portion of the mechanism associated with the needle bar of the knitting needle 3 being illustrated, and that associated with the needle 4 being a mirror image of the structure shown.

The needle bar 9 is guided on rods 9' for up-and-down movement in longitudinal ball bearings 10 of supporting clamps 11 attached to a shaft 12 by clamping screws 21,

only one rod 9' and associated elements being shown in' the drawing for the sake of clarity. The shaft 12 is journaled in the machine frame for rocking or oscillating movement which is transmitted to the shaft 12 from a cam mechanism, not seen in FIG. 2, by a push rod 14 and an arm 13.

The trick plate 1 is fixedly attached to the clamps 11 by screws 15. The knitted fabric 16 is drawn off between the two trick plates 1, 2 in the direction of the arrow.

The elements of the knitting machine which move the knitting implements in the manner described above are shown more fully in FIG. 3.

Dependent bearing brackets 15' on the knitting machine frame 16' pivotally support a rocker shaft 17 equipped with hangers 18 and yokes 19 on which guide bars 20 may be moved longitudinally in a conventional manner by a pattern mechanism, not shown. The shaft 17 is pivoted back and forth in proper synchronization during each knitting cycle in a conventional manner not directly relevant to this invention.

FIG. 3 also illustrates the needle bed 9a, supporting clamp 11a, and shaft 12a corresponding to the aforedescribed elements 9, 11, 12 associated with the needle 4. The shafts 12, 12a are oscillated by levers 22, 22a engaging cams 23, 23a on cam shafts 24, 24a. Movement is transmitted from the levers 22, 22a to the shafts 12, 12a by push rods 14, 14a and arms 13, 13a, as partly described with reference to FIG. 2, whereby the needles 3, 4 are moved laterally prior to, and after, the lapping motions of the guide needles 6.

The levers 22, 22a are rotatably mounted on stationary shafts 25, 25a which also carry similar levers 26, 26a which engage cams 27, 27a on the cam shafts 24, 24a. The movements of the levers 26, 26a are transmitted to the rod 9' and its non-illustrated counterpart associated with the needle bar 9a by connecting rods 28, 28a.

The cam shafts 24, 24a are connected by non-illustrated gears to the main drive shaft of the knitting machine, as is conventional, and one of the cam shafts is equipped with a non-illustrated swing cam that causes the rocking movement of the shaft 17 and the conventional swinging motion of the guide bars 20 with their yarn guides 6 in proper timed sequence with the movements of the needle bars 9, 9a and the knitting needles 3, 4.

As is evident from FIG. 3, the spacing of the trick plates 1, 2 remains fairly uniform during the lateral movement of the needles 3, 4, and the trick plates and the two groups of needles 3, associated with the trick plates remain substantially parailel to each other in all operative positions of the machine. The trick plates move relative to each other in'a direction whose principal component is vertical. This helps in holding the knitted fabric down, and the usual sinker bar may be omitted.

In the modified apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the two needle bars 9, 9a and the associated two trick plates 1, 2 are mounted on a common supporting clamp 11c fixedly attached to a shaft 120. A slot 18 passes through the clamp 11c and the shaft 12c in a plane between the parallel paths of the needles 3, 4 to permit take-up of the knitted fabric 16". The modified apparatus of FIG. 4 is suitable particularly for knitting narrow goods, such as shoe laces, tubular nets, and the like, which are readily passed singly or in groups through the slot 18'.

It is preferred to use the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 on relatively narrow knitting machines in which the slot 18' may extend over the relatively short axial length of the shaft 12c, or to provide a corresponding shaft in a Raschel knitting machine of ordinary width with several axially spaced slots 18 extending in a common plane.

The shaft is rocked by an arm 13c and a push rod cooperating with a cam mechanism in a manner obvious from FIG. 3 and conventional in this art.

It should be understood, therefore, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to preferred embodiments of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Raschel warp knitting machine having two elongated needle bars, elongated knitting needles on each needle bar, two trick plates respectively receiving the needles bar, two trick plates respectively receiving the needles associated with said bars, and a needle bar mechanism for moving said bars, the improvement in the needle bar mechanism which comprises:

(a) two shafts mounted for oscillating movement about respective axes extending in the direction of elongation of said needle bars;

(b) securing means securing said needle bars to said shafts respectively for oscillating movement therewith while permitting reciprocating movement of each bar in a direction transverse of the axis of the associated shaft and substantially longitudinally of the needles on said shaft;

(c) fastening means fixedly fastening said trick plates to said shafts respectively; and

(d) actuating means for oscillating said shafts about the respective axes thereof and for reciprocating said bars on said shafts in said transverse directions in timed sequence.

2. In a machine as set forth in claim 1, said securing means including a support member fixedly fastened to each shaft, and guiding means guiding one of said needle bars on said support member for the reciprocating movement thereof, said fastening means fixedly fastening one of said trick plates to said support member.

3. In a Raschel warp knitting machine having two elongated needle bars, elongated knitting needles on each needle bar, two trick plates respectively receiving the needles associated with said bars, and a needle bar mechanism for moving said bars, the improvement in the needle bar mechanism which comprises:

(a) a shaft having an axis and mounted for oscillating movement about said axis;

(b) securing means securing said needle bars to said shaft for oscillating movement therewith while permitting reciprocating movement of said bars in respective, substantially parallel, spaced paths transverse of said axis and substantially longitudinal of said needles,

5 1) said shaft being formed with a slot therethrough in a plane intermediate said paths; (c) fastening means fixedly fastening said trick plates to said shaft; and (d) actuating means for oscillating said shaft about the axis thereof and for reciprocating said needle bars in said respective paths. 4. In a machine as set forth in claim 3, said securing means including a support member fixedly fastened to said shaft, and guiding means guiding said needle bars 10 5. In a machine as set forth in claim 3, said shaft being formed with an additional slot therethrough in said plane, said slots being axially spaced from each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,508,209 5/1950 Amidon 6686 2,744,398 5/1956 ,Scheibe 6686 2,990,703 7/1961 Bialostok 6687 RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner 

